Homebodies
“By faith Abel…by faith Enoch….by faith Noah… by faith Abraham….by faith Sarah…. All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to return. Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them.” Hebrews 11
When our kids were little, being in other places was fun and exciting. Whether we were at the park or at a friend’s house, our announcement of “C’mon, it’s time to go home!” was likely met with protest and wails of “Nooooo! Just a little bit longer! I don’t want to go home yet!” Home was just, home. It wasn’t ‘special’. The kids were having fun where they were and they weren’t ready to go home.
But have you noticed, the older one gets, the more they just like to be home? It’s where they are most comfortable. It’s where they belong. They might not mind being out and about, but home is where they really long to be. There's a comfort about being there with those whom they love and are connected to deeply. Being out and away quickly loses its charm. Home is where the heart longs to be.
There’s a spiritual element here. As believers, we should feel the same about heaven and being with the Lord. The older we get, the more we see that this world isn’t as exciting and satisfying as we once thought it to be. We become weary of the shallowness and wary of the promise of wonderful things here that we know will not fulfill us. What this world promises, it just cannot deliver. The more we live here, the more we long to be in our real home with the Lord. We know we’re strangers and aliens here and we want to go and be where we belong. We want to be with the Lord.
“My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.” John 14:2-3
Here’s another perspective; if we’re getting ready to move, perhaps changing locations or building a new house, our heart begins to shift from where we currently live to that new place. We build up anticipation and longing because we know better things are coming. We begin to imagine living in that new place and we look forward to that new home and the life that comes with it. Our current location begins to fade in favor and appeal. We just want to be home. But home is becoming that other place where we don’t yet live.
Our sons and daughters often struggle with grasping a longing to be with Christ. Oh, they love Him, but they’re still enamored with this world and all it appears to hold for them. They haven’t yet ‘tasted’ the spiritual promise that assures them that life in Christ’s presence is far better than anything they’ll experience in this world. They’re still protesting, “Not yet! I’m not ready!”
Oh that they would shift their heart and mind to realize that this is not where they belong. This life, this world, is a shadow. It’s a poor representation of all that they are meant to enjoy in the presence of Christ.
The Apostle Peter understood well what our situation was as believers when he addressed the believers in 1 Peter 1:1-2.
“Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, To God’s elect, exiles (or strangers) scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.”
Today, let’s pray that our sons and daughters begin to recognize that, as believers, they are exiles. They are not meant for this world. They are strangers and aliens and should always sense that this is not where they belong-their true citizenship lies elsewhere. Let’s pray they have a longing for the home God is preparing for them and they are excited for the coming ‘move’. Jesus WILL return to gather His bride, the church. We don’t want to be looking behind us like Lot’s wife, longing for the corrupt place we’re leaving behind, but we want to be looking with anticipation to what lies ahead. We know that the home Jesus is preparing is far better than anything here.
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling,”
“Oh Father, we know that You intend to bring us to live with You. Your promise is evident throughout Your Word that this is not our home, but better things await. I pray that (name) would begin to anticipate that new home, the blessing of standing in Your Presence and enjoying life as you intended. Lord, help them not to be charmed by this world, but to have clear spiritual vision that assures them better things are to come. I pray that their prayer wouldn’t be “Not yet, Lord!” but instead would be “Come quickly, Lord Jesus!” “
“Help me to encourage them by setting an example of hope, anticipation and joy at the thought of my heavenly home. Help me to point them to Scripture that shows us the joy and belonging that await us. Help me to long to be in Your Presence. But until that day, keep both (name) and I diligent and steady in doing the work You have for us here. Help us to finish well. Lord, open (name)’s eyes to see the deception that Satan weaves to lure us into complacency and into love for this world. It’s not what You desire for us and it’s a cheap imitation- a counterfeit that will never deliver the joy, fulfillment and belonging that You give us in Your Presence. Lord, work in our hearts and minds today. And come quickly, Lord Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
Pray without ceasing.
Leaky Buckets
Jeremiah 2:13 “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Imagine standing at the window for a moment watching the kids playing outside, busy with ‘kid things’ and having fun. One of them has a bucket and is determined to bring water from the spigot to the ‘fish pond’ they’re constructing on the other side of the yard. But the bucket they found is one with a hole in the bottom. They fill it until they’re barely able to carry it, and then drag it, sloshing, across the yard. But the whole time they’re working hard to get to their ‘work site’, the water is draining out of the hole. They arrive only to realize they lost most of the water and they have to go back to refill, hoping that this time they’ll be able to return with more water. But each time, it yields the same result. Yet, they continue this fruitless effort. Trip after trip yields little compared to their effort.
We look at this and know exactly what the problem is and how to fix it. Yet, when something like this happens in our own lives, we’re oblivious to the spiritual significance. Far too often we work hard to fill ourselves with things that we think will satisfy, but we haven’t allowed Jesus to repair the ‘hole in our bucket’ and all the things we fill ourselves with simply drain out and leave us empty and unfulfilled. We become exactly those of whom Jeremiah 2:13 speaks- forsakers of Christ, digging our own cisterns that are broken and cannot hold water, working so hard to be filled yet not recognizing we will never be able to satisfy that thirst ourselves.
We are confronted daily with our own desires and the lies that tell us we’ll find our satisfaction in other things- whether they be relationships, careers, finances or experiences. And there isn’t anything wrong with those things, but when we set them on a pedestal as the answer to and fulfillment of our dissatisfaction and they become the things by which we determine our value, we set ourselves up for disillusionment. We create idols and false gods that we exhaust ourselves serving. It’s fruitless and empty. We are trying to fill a bucket that has a hole.
Colossians 3:1-2 says, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” If we belong to the Lord, our hearts and minds need to be focused on him.
Where is our focus? To Whom do we look for fulfillment and satisfaction? As our world grows darker and more tumultuous, our ‘buckets’ are sure to become battered and worn. Yet Christ is able to heal and fill us in extraordinary ways. He is the only One who can sustain us. Are we looking to Him?
And what about our sons and daughters? Are they digging their own cisterns, cracked and unable to hold the Living Water? Are they falling for the lies or are they protecting their hearts and minds in Christ?
Today, let’s take time to pray that our sons and daughters would not forsake the Lord. Pray that they would not try to satisfy their spiritual thirst with temporal things but that they would let Jesus fill them. Pray their hearts and minds would be set on Christ and they would be satisfied with His living water filling them afresh each day.
Pray without ceasing.